Final Thought

Hypothesis:

When I awoke, it was once again dark, except for a small bright spot out of the corner of my eye. I turned towards the dim light, and my eyes fell upon a red-haired girl, about 17 years of age. She had aqua eyes that had a tint of green to them, and was wearing a gray dress, skirt flowing to her knees. Her hair was also short, which matched her face nearly perfectly. I pondered why she was in the room, when she said “Oh, thank goodness you’re still alive. Uncle, come quickly!”

I heard footsteps ascend the staircase outside, and when the man opened the nearby door, I recognized him as the bartender.

He examined me closely, and smiling, he said “Geez, about time he woke up. Good thing you came through kid. The name’s Shinsu Dono, and this is my niece: Kita Dono.”

The girl sitting at the desk nodded her head, and said “Pleased to meet you.”

Then, something bizarre popped up in front of my face: It was a cylindrical floating object that was chrome in color, except for a black strip running widthwise around it. Inside the black strip was a red dot that constantly moved around. It said in a high mechanical voice “So, he is moving. Sensors show that his bio temperatures are still a few degrees below normal, however if he wants to, he is capable of leaving on his own.”

I stared wide-eyed at the robot, shocked at its unexpected arrival. Shinsu waved his hand at it however, and said to it “Stand back, or hover back, whatever.” He then explained to me “Sorry, this is U8. He’s been in the family for a few generations. He helps me with the cooking.”

“I know every recipe composition known to man.” piped the small robot.

“He is also very blatant.” apologized Shinsu.

“What happened?” I asked.

It was the girl, Kita who answered “You nearly died of hypothermia out there. You also have first degree burns on your hands, several glass cuts on your chest and feet, and U8 detected some chemical poisoning inside your stomach.”

U8 then said “It was bacterial soap sir, Window washing material.”

I then wondered “Why didn’t I die? Why do I suffer such a fate? Why must I continue living like this?”

I must have thought aloud, for Shinsu said “Hey kid, you got to be thankful for your life. That’s god saying that you shouldn’t just give up. Now, I’ll be back with some food, and it won’t be soup this time.”

He left, followed closely by U8, rushing loyally behind him.

The girl then walked over to me, and put her hand to my forehead. “Hmm, you don’t seem to have a fever. However, just in case, I’ll get some blankets.”

She started to leave, when I said “Wait.”

She turned back towards me, and asked “Yes?”

“Do that again: put your hand on my face.”

She wondered only for a short time why I had made such a strange request; however she obeyed, and put her hand to my forehead again.

I didn’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t the feeling of nonexistence. I didn’t feel her hand. I couldn’t feel the warmth of another. I couldn’t feel anything. I suddenly knew what I felt. I was caught in a torrent of purgatory. I wasn’t dead, yet what could I hope to live for? I might as well be dead than to live in a world of diversity, and not be able to diversify.

“You’re, you’re crying.” the girl said.

I knew I was crying, but I didn’t feel the tears sliding down my face onto the floor. I knew from my own self pity. I hated me, no; I hated what I’ve become. I hated my creators.

I suddenly knew that my name could not possibly be ‘subject’. The names of my caretakers weren’t nearly as bland as mine. I realized that there are only a few people on earth knew my name, and I knew that the chances of me encountering such a person was nil indeed. Instead, I forged a new name for myself.

As Kita covered me with a soft, yellow blanket (perceived from its material), I repeated the name in my head:

Crimson X

I knew my captors gave me this terrible scar across my forehead, and that it was their fault I was restricted to be a mere bystander in the world. I would not rest again until I had swift retribution on those that left me dead, unable to truly experience the world for what it was.

My name was a constant reminder of my one and only desire: to seek revenge and to force them to tell me why did they send me to hell. Why did they do such a monstrous thing that left me this way? When I find them, they will have answers for me. They will regret that moment of their sick lives.

Shinsu returned with U8, this time with a metal tray. Upon it was a bowl of fried rice mixed with several objects that U8 told me were vegetables. I marveled at the different colors: light golden brown sprinkled with green, orange, yellow, and opaque white.

“Eat up kid. You look very hungry, this may be exactly what you need.” said Shinsu, offering me a spoon.

I took the spoon, and scooped up a bit of the rice, and proceeded to consume it. As expected, the rice had no flavor to me. I kept chewing however, for although it would bring no pleasure to my mouth, I knew it could bring pleasure to my growling stomach.

Kita then said to me “When you’re finished, I brought some clothes for you to wear. I hope you like them.”

I sat there eating my meal as U8, Kita, and Shinsu left downstairs, to run the restaurant no doubt.

After I finished eating, I walked over to the window. Outside, I found that I was currently on the second floor of the restaurant, and I was right next to the neon sign that aided me in deducing the purpose of this building. White flakes that I recognized as snow descended upon the moving crowd below and large machines with red and white lights, all similar in design and structure, carried different people along the road at unnatural speeds.

I found that the window occupied half of two walls so that the corner curved to accommodate the glass. This way, I had about 300 degrees of available vision. However, only one out of those three hundred caught my eye: It was a particularly immense building that stood out like a giant among giants. It had over 25 floors, and was built very wide, like a hospital, or a lab.

I knew right then and there that the building that was 200 yards away contained the source of my sorrow.

I looked on the desk in the opposite corner: A black hooded sweater, gray pants, and white sneakers with matching socks were laid out perfectly for me to wear. I put on my new attire, and without a second thought, went downstairs to exit the building.

When I reached the actual restaurant, I found that the stairs were right next to the bar. There were more people than before, and I read the clock on the wall: 7:36

From behind the bar, Shinsu spotted me leaving, and asked me “Hey kid, leaving so soon? Are you sure you’re all right?”

I replied “Yes, I’m very fine, thank you. I’m going to look at a building, but I may be back.”

Shinsu said a bit reluctantly “Well, okay. I really shouldn’t let you go in the middle of winter without U8 checking you over, but if you really feel ok,”

I turned to leave, however I came face to face with Kita.

She asked me “Can I come with you? If you’re not completely well, I should be there to bring you back.”

I began to protest, but after a while I realized that she was firm to her beliefs, and I had no choice but to let her accompany me on my journey.

We walked down the street, as Kita had called it. Surprisingly, it was still dark outside. “Why is the sky like this?” I asked Kita.

Kita looked at me incredulously and replied “Don’t you know? There was a giant war between several countries. Nuclear war broke out between them and it only a matter of time before this was the result.”

She motioned towards the dark, uninviting sky. “The resulting dust from the explosions wafted into the air, and there it will stay to forever remind us of our mistake. It doesn’t seem fair. We didn’t do anything, and yet we’re suffering for stupid arguments.”

I felt a little saddened about her story. “Are there any more wars?”

Kita sighed in response, and answered “No, there is a treaty forbidding the use of any kinds of weapons that may endanger the planet even further than before.”

I shook my head, and said “But you are merely depending on people who started the war in the first place to prevent another war through a piece of paper. That cannot possibly be reliable.”

Kita looked at me with an ironic smile of sadness. “Then maybe it is inevitable that we die.”

We came upon the gloomy building: very few lights were on, save the bottom floor which had all of its lights beaming. Its appearance was foreboding, and I was hesitant to continue, however I knew that inside were the answers to my pain and the solutions to my problems.

I turned to Kita, and told her before entering “Please stay here. I don’t know what lies beyond these doors, and it may be very dangerous. Your uncle would be very angry of me if my motives were to cause you harm.”

She started to complain about not being able to help, but she knew that it was my business and mine alone.

When I walked in through the rotary doors, I was at first captivated by the bright appearance of the room. Aside from the doors, pictures, and some other choice items, the room was all white, including the white suits of the scientists. It was very smooth looking, if you will. The white stairs leading to the upper floors were elegant to my eyes. The floor gleamed with a reflective polish. The inner space was vast, dwarfing even Shinsu’s restaurant.

I walked to the front desk where a middle-aged woman with smooth brown hair wearing an identical white business dress greeted me without directing her eyes to me, which were affixed to the computer monitor on her desk. “Hello, Government Sciences Department, how may I help you?”

I began to speak, but realized that I knew nothing of my captors and therefore couldn’t identify them. I then remembered a name from when I was in that vent yesterday.

“I am a friend of doctor Shinobu. I was wondering if he was available.”

Without looking up, she said “He’s on the 27th floor, room 27-198. He may be busy, but I’ll tell him you stopped by.”

I nodded, and said “Thank you, but I can see him myself: it’s a real personal matter.”

I started to walk towards the shining spotless steel elevator when I spotted something peculiar on the ceiling: it was a black dome, concaving into the room. I wondered why this dome was attached to the center of the room, however I took no mind of it, and walked into the elevator.

As the doors closed, I noted the different buttons next to the doors, each button numbered from 1 to 28. I pushed the button labeled 27, correctly assuming that the numbers referred to the floor level.

As I waited for the elevator to arrive at my destination, I pondered a lot of things. I wondered what exactly would I ask when I confronted them. What would I do if they didn’t answer? Would I be forced to use violence? And if they don’t submit, then would I be forced to kill?

When I walked out of the elevator, I decided that my best course of action was to somehow acquire my desired information without exposing myself to my captors. I remembered the ventilation system that I used to hide from my captors, and it occurred to me that the system should reach out to every room in the building. I walked until I reached a door which had the label 27-198 above the doorframe (It was easy to find since the doors were labeled in sequential order).

I tried to press my ear to the door to hear potential information; however the metal door was air tight, and thus I couldn’t hear any sounds from behind the barrier. I then decided to move to the room across from it. The room was similar to the room I awoke in, the only difference being the absence of a window.

I closed the door behind me so that I was undisturbed, and I climbed onto the bed as before. I removed the plate from the vent, and crawled into the narrow space.

With as much caution as the last time that I was inside the vent, I crawled slowly ahead, knowing that the vent across leads to the main lab.

And my captors.

When I heard voices below me, and saw a light from the bottom of the vent in front of me, I went faster in ecstasy. For some reason, the scientists below me were more interested in their work than they were in the noises coming from my knees banging onto the steel. Seconds later, I learned why:

The man I recognized from earlier that I saw in the vent when I woke up was now accompanied by a stiff man about 36 years of age with brown, sleek hair wearing an equally sleek white coat that gave him a sense of authority that was fortified with a red tie and gold pocket watch.

A voice came from the left of them: “Dr. Hitagawa, the process of the virus is almost complete.”

The old man replied “Very good Ikuyo, we will begin testing soon. I hope we do not fail this time.” I assumed the old man was Dr. Hitagawa. I will never forget what his next words were:

“Ever since our last experiment escaped, the senate has been on our case.”

Experiment! He referred to me as his experiment! Why Dr. Hitagawa? Why did you do this to me? You created me, and as a result you destroyed me! I could barely contain my rage at hearing these words, but somehow I managed to quell my feelings towards this man.

The young man next to him then said “Doctor, you know the risks of this experiment. We could lose a great deal more than our jobs from this.”

Dr. Hitagawa replied “Yes, I know Dr. Shinobu, however, we must move forward. Man didn’t create the cities or lights or airplanes by staying in one place.”

I tried to shift myself to get a better view of what was happening, however, my vision was very limited.

But it would not matter soon, for the door opened, and a voice yelled “Doctor: test subject 219-1914 is here inside the complex!”